Improvement in fruit-pickers



J.- BAILEY.

Frui

jilgented June 29,1875.

ATTORNEY THE GRAPHIC C0.PHOTO.LITH.39&4I PARK PLAGEJLY.

JAMES BAILEY, OF FARMINGTON, MAINE,

I IMPRQVEMENT IN FRUiT-PICKERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 165,053, dated June 29, 1875 app'icaticn filed January 2, 1875. i

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES BAILEY, of Farmington, in the county of Franklin and State of Maine, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Fruit Pickers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawing is a representation of a side view of my fruit-picker. Fig. 2 is asectional detail view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan detail view.

This invention has relation to fruit-pickers; and the nature thereof consists in a movable jaw, hinged to a fixed jaw, rigidly secured to the upper end of a pole, the former adapted to be received within the latter when it is actuated in the act of gathering a fruit, whereby its stem is bent over the upper rail of the fixed jaw, and is thereby efiectually detached from the tree without efiort on the part of the operator.

It also consists in a pole sustaining the gatherin g device, arranged within the conducting-pipe, whereby the latter is compressed by the hand in the act of holding up the former, thereby arresting the downward rush of the falling fruit to prevent its being bruised in striking the ground, enabling me to dispense with valves and other like cumbrous devices for the purpose.

In the annexed drawings, A designates a pole, preferably of cylindrical form, upon the upper end of which is arranged the fixed jaw B of my improved picker. This jaw is formed of wire, of suitable dimensions, in the following manner, to wit: It is bent in'such a manner that its upper rail or shall be rounding, its side rails a being parallel to each other, and vertical to the lower rail 1), which is formed of the ends of the wire, the same being of sufficient length, when bent outward from each other in the same plane with the body of the jaw, to form a tang, by means of which it is secured in the usual well-known manner tot-he said pole, a feirule being preferably applied thereon, with a view to preventing splitting.

O designates a movable jaw, also made of wire, and it consists of two loops, 0 c, and two eyes, 6, formed by bending a single piece of wire into the shape shown in Fig. 3, through The free ends of these springs next the tang of the fixed jaw are securely fastened along therewith to the upper end of the pole A, and

those next the lateral bars thereof are rigidly fastened to the eyes 0 of the movable jaw. In this manner the spring will hold the jaw 0 open when not in use, and when it is actuated, by means of a cord, D, rigidly secured to loop 0, for the purpose of picking a fruit, it will be immediately returned to the same position when the string is released.

E designates a tube of any light, flexible material, which is passed from below over the pole A, and is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the fixed jaw B and to loop 0. I may, in practice, provide the said loop with an independent bottom, in which case the upper end of the tube will be longitudinally slit, for the purpose of allowing loop a to be passed through it, and the edges of the same will be rigidly secured to the fixed loop B.

I use my improved picker in the following manner, to wit: The picker is thrust into the tree, and a fruit is introduced into the space between the fixed and movable jaws. By drawing upon cord 1) the loop 0 of the movable jaw will cause the apple to be carried into the tube E, and its stem will be thereby bent across the upper rail of the fixed jaw and broken short 0ft, owing to the loop 0 being of less size than the fixed jaw, without any jerking or other effort on the part of the operator. The fruit being broken off will descend into the eonductortube E, and will be stopped before reaching the ground by the hand of the operator grasping the pole and crimping the tube. He may now place the end of the pole,

and with it the tube, in a sack or other rccepadapted to be vibrated through and. into the tacle, and by shifting his hold allow the fruit same, substantially as specified.

to glide gently into it, thereby dispensing with 2. The pole A, arranged within the tube E,

valves and other like contrivances for preventsubstantially as and for the purpose specified.

ing injury, and. consequently loss of value of In testimony that I claim the above I have fruits from bruising. hereunto subscribed my name in the presence What I claim as new, and desire vto secure by of two witnesses.

Letters Patent, is JAMES BAILEY.

1. In a fruit-picker, the combination, with Witnesses: the loop 0, of movable wire jaw G, hinged to J OSEPH'G. HOLMAN,

the lower rail of a fixed wire jaw, B, and JOHN F. WOODS. 

